So You Want to be a Trainer?
by lnex
Summary: A girl begins her very own adventure, just like she's seen on TV. Now she just has to beat all the gyms, catch all the pokemon, and somehow make it seem easy. After all, isn't that what trainers usually do?
1. The Beginning

**Please note: As shown by my username, I like math. I don't write. This is my first time writing anything, so please don't flame me (though I'll happily take constructive criticism).**

Madison glanced towards the street. She'd heard that the best way to train pokemon was to find a spot and challenge every trainer that walked past. The problem was that nobody looked like a trainer.

_Hiker, youngster, fisherman, another hiker… _Madison resigned herself to waiting. _What does a trainer look like, anyway?_ She guessed that trainers wore shiny badges or had a special kind of hat. _Hmm, would I even be able to beat a trainer?_

Madison snapped out of her daydreaming as a hiker walked over. "You lost?" The hiker seemed concerned. "The town's just over that-a-way. It's not a far walk."

"I know. I live there." Madison tried to size up the hiker. _Seems like he would have a fighting type. I could take him down! _"By the way, I challenge you to a battle!" Madison pulled her pokeball out of her pocket.

The hiker looked confused. "No thanks." He turned and walked back to the path.

"Darn!" Madison looked down at her brand-new pokeball. _I just want to beat someone, is it too much to ask?_ She had gotten it yesterday for her 10th birthday. She threw the pokeball against the ground. "Moonie, I choose you!" A small pink Munna appeared, hovering above Madison's head.

"Moonie, use psywave against that tree!" If people didn't want to battle, she could at least practice on other things. "Hit the bush too!" Madison noticed people looking at her strangely, but she didn't care. "Moonie, hit that rock!" _Wait, did the rock just move?_ "Um, do it again!" _That rock definitely moves._ "Ok, you can stop." Madison grabbed a stick and poked the fake rock, which turned into a Ditto.

"Woah!" Madison started searching her bag for a pokeball. Moonie, tired of drifting around, tried to hit the Ditto again. Madison threw a pokeball and missed. The Ditto slid under a bush. "Go after it Moonie!" Madison was frustrated—catching things looked so much easier on TV. She picked up the pokeball and tossed it into the bush. _Forget the Ditto. It can go catch itself for all I care._

"C'mon Moonie. We're going home!" Madison slung her backpack over her shoulder. "Nobody needs a Ditto anyway," she grumbled.

Madison heard footsteps behind her. "Need a little help?" It was the nice hiker from before. "Sorry, I don't mean to be rude. You ever caught a pokemon before?"

When Madison shook her head, he pulled out a pokeball. "Machoke, go!" A scary-looking Machoke leapt out of the ball. Madison took a step back. "See here, you gotta weaken it some more." The hiker pointed to the bush. "Low kick!" There was a small squish as the Machoke hit the Ditto. "You got another pokeball?"

Madison shook her head, slightly embarrassed. _What kind of a trainer am I if I can't even remember extra pokeballs?_ The hiker didn't seem to mind. He took out a great ball and threw it hard into the bush. "See that? Now I know I've got him, cause the Ditto's not gonna move after that kick." The hiker reached into the bush and pulled out the now heavy pokeball. He handed it to Madison.

"Wow, thank you!" Madison looked at the pokeball excitedly. With 2 pokemon, she could win double battles, have a backup in case Moonie got hurt, and maybe even beat the Elite Four after a bit of practice. "Thank you so much!"

The hiker was pleased with his good deed. "You're very welcome. Best of luck with your new pokemon!" He glanced at his hands. "And, well, you might not wanna challenge strangers. That's a good way to get your pokemon hurt." He gestured at his giant Machoke and Madison's little pink Munna before walking off.

That night at dinner, Madison recounted her small adventure to her parents and sister. "And then, the hiker's Machoke couldn't beat up the Ditto, so I said to Moonie 'This is your time to shine!' And Moonie used the coolest psychic move I ever saw! And then the giant evil Ditto fell to the ground with a giant 'THUD' and I caught it." She hit the table hard to illustrate her point.

Madison's parents exchanged skeptical glances. Madison continued, attempting to reach her point before her parents brought down her story. "So anyway, because I'm 10 and that's old enough, and I'm responsible…" Madison tried to read her mom's face. "Um, can I go on a pokemon training journey?"


	2. Also the Beginning

**So I've learned a few things from my first chapter: everything looks shorter on Fanfiction, I can insert a little horizontal line without an hr tag, and I'm not that terrible at writing (at least, I don't think I'm any worse than average). The next chapter will come whenever I feel like writing again.**

Madison's sister broke the tense moment. "Wanna go too! Go! Addie go!" she screeched, throwing her peas on the floor.

Madison's mom glanced once again at her dad, and they seemed to telepathically reach a conclusion. "Your dad and I will talk it over. No promises, though."

* * *

Later that night, Madison sat in her room and waited for her parents' decision. She had tried everything during dinner to persuade them, including making puppy-dog eyes. _There's no way they can say no! The roads are really safe for people with 2 pokemon, I know everything about training and traveling because of TV, and I'm already 10 years old. If I don't go now, I'll be an old hag without pokemon and literally live under a rock._

Her argument now fully justified, Madison stood by the mirror and tried to imagine herself beating a whole gym. She pulled her blond hair into a ponytail and pretended to throw a pokeball. "Go Ditto!" she shouted.

"Is everything all right up there?" her mother shouted from the kitchen.

"Yeah, I'm good!" Madison called back. It wasn't fair that Madison's parents could hear her from the kitchen, but she couldn't hear their conversation. _After all, they're talking about my whole entire future down there._

After a few long minutes of waiting, Madison was finally called to the kitchen table. Her parents tried to look stern, but she noticed her dad hiding a smile. Madison sat in a chair, grinning. "So I can go?" she asked.

"Wait a second. We haven't said anything yet!" her mom exclaimed. "But yes, you may go."

Madison jumped up, almost knocking over her chair. "Awesome! I'm gonna go pack my stuff."

Her dad, anticipating Madison's reaction, steadied the chair. "Not just yet, Maddie. Your mom _and_ I have agreed- you can go have your adventure on one condition." He paused, watching for Madison's reaction.

Madison remained optimistic. _Last time he said that, I got full TV privileges and the 'condition' was that I couldn't watch violent movies. I bet this time, he's going to tell me not to take candy from strangers or something else obvious._

Her dad finished. "You have to take a friend along. The roads are too dangerous for a girl by herself, even if you have a few pokemon."

Madison's excitement never dipped. "Works for me! Can I take Emily along?" Her mind raced at the possibilities. An adventure would be more fun with her best friend. "I can lend her my Ditto and we can do double battles and train together. I wonder if we could beat gyms at the same time, or if it's one person at a time? And we-"

Her mom interrupted. "Sorry Madison, but Emily's birthday is in a few months, remember? You have to be ten to keep pokemon." She noticed Madison's crestfallen face. "You can always wait for her, if that's what you want."

Madison shook her head. She ran through a list of other friends. _Isabel? Darn, her birthday is in 2 weeks. That's way too long. And Megan is a whole year younger than me. Lauren probably wouldn't want to- she hates battling. And Toni would just get annoying._

"Aren't most of your friends younger than you? Don't worry, though. You know Kevin, right? I think he's a year ahead of you at school." Madison's mother looked pleased with her solution.

Madison could vaguely picture a boy named Kevin. She nodded. _Hmm, he might be the one who's always showing off his Onyx. I hope not. That kid is a jerk._

"Then it's settled. Kevin's already had his own adventure, so you guys should be well off."

Madison and her parents discussed details for a while longer, and Madison went to her room to pack her bags, less excited than she was before.


End file.
